Crocus

It seemed that becoming the Pirate King took more than just talk.

On the road to becoming the Pirate King, how could there be only one top-tier powerhouse like Garp standing in his way?

"Gahahaha, now this is interesting!"

Ignoring the pain wracking his body, Gato burst into wild laughter.

No matter what, in his first clash with Garp, he had come out slightly ahead. Though he had been fleeing in panic the whole time, he had achieved his goal, while Garp had failed.

Having escaped with his life, Gato seemed to have gotten carried away and forgotten just how terrible his condition was.

He had already been injured while resisting the cannonballs Garp threw at him, not to mention whatever he had suffered while crossing Reverse Mountain afterward.

He felt as though nearly every bone in his body had shattered, his muscles were badly torn, and his internal organs were probably not intact either.

"I'll still die if this goes on. That Pirate King's ship doctor seems to be nearby..."

Gato had not gone far from Reverse Mountain. It was said that Crocus, the Pirate King's ship doctor, guarded the lighthouse at Twin Cape. If he could find him, he would be saved.

"I survived being caught between Garp and Reverse Mountain. There's no way I'll die from my own injuries!"

Hypnotizing himself with those words, Gato threw himself back into the sea.

"The lighthouse... I'm almost there."

Every stroke through the water brought Gato heart-rending pain, as if he might die the very next second. Yet a single conviction continued to support him, keeping him from sinking into the sea.

He was a man who would become the Pirate King and command the Six Paths. If he died in a world-shaking battle, that would be one thing, but dying here in obscurity would be far too ridiculous.

"Hah... hah, I made it."

In the end, Gato proved that his limits went beyond this. He forcibly evaded Death's scythe and reached the lighthouse at Twin Cape.

"Doctor! Doctor... Where is he? Is he not here?"

Gato discovered in despair that Crocus did not seem to be inside the lighthouse. Was heaven determined to see him die?

The shadow of death loomed over him. In his desperation, Gato suddenly had an idea and remembered another place Crocus might be.

Suddenly, an ear-splitting whale song echoed through the sky. It sounded capable of rupturing eardrums, yet delight appeared on his face.

"Good! Heaven hasn't forsaken me!"

As soon as he spoke, a colossal figure drifted beneath the sea before suddenly surging to the surface.

It was an incomparably enormous whale. Before it, even the Lord of the Coast could only be considered an infant. When it rose upright, its shadow covered all of Twin Cape, as though it could blot out the sky.

Its mouth opened and closed, releasing mournful cries that sounded both angry and aggrieved. Gato no longer cared about the risk of going deaf. He threw himself into the whale's maw, leaping straight toward its open mouth.

Then his vision went black, and he fell unconscious, knowing nothing more.

"Hey, hey! Wake up, kid..."

Gato slowly awoke from the haze, vaguely hearing someone calling out to him.

In a hoarse, dazed voice, he muttered, "Did I... transmigrate again?"

"Trans... migrate? What's that? Kid, did your brain get fried too?"

Gato opened his eyes and saw a man with a flower-shaped head glaring down at him. With that intimidating presence, he looked as though he might suddenly pounce and kill him at any moment.

Seeing himself wrapped in bandages from head to toe and unable to move, he immediately knew who the old man before him was.

The Pirate King's former ship doctor—Crocus.

Gato secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He was finally saved. With this man treating him, his life should be secure.

Though he knew the man before him had saved him, Gato still had to ask, so that he could thank him.

"Sir, did you save me? You are...?"

"That's right, I'm your lifesaver. But before asking who I am, shouldn't you introduce yourself first?"

Gato grumbled inwardly. He knew this old man had saved him, but wasn't he being far too blunt? Still, he forced a smile. "Ah... right! Of course. My name is Gato, and I'm from the East—"

Before Gato could finish, Crocus interrupted him and began talking on his own.

"My name is Crocus. I'm sixty-eight years old, and I'm the lighthouse keeper of Twin Cape..."

Watching him chatter on endlessly, as though his introduction would never end, Gato's mouth twitched. It took all his effort to suppress the urge to split the old man in half.

"Stop, stop, stop! I actually survived. Sir, you're a doctor, right? Are my injuries still serious?"

Crocus' eyes widened once more. With an extremely solemn expression, he slowly said, "Mm-hm, very serious... You'll die."

"I'll... die? How could that be? Even you can't save me?"

Gato had not expected that even Crocus could not treat his injuries. This was the Pirate King's ship doctor. If even he could not save him, then he truly was going to die. He did not think he could stay alive long enough to make it to Drum Island.

It seemed he could only ask Kaguya to intervene. She would not ignore whether he lived or died, but Gato was deeply unwilling to accept that.

He had originally believed he could overcome every difficulty on his own. He had not expected that Kaguya would have to save him in the end. He was even beginning to doubt the meaning of all his hard training.

Crocus replied:

"Yeah, it was really serious. If I hadn't treated you, you'd be dead by now..."

Gato froze for a moment, understanding Crocus's words. This old man had a really twisted sense of humor. Furious, he demanded:

"You! Where's my sword?"

"Kid, you need to learn some humor. I put your sword away for you. That thing is far too ominous—what's so good about fighting and killing? Those two branches of Treasure Tree Adam you had, though, are good stuff."

Since the old man had confirmed that those two pieces of wood were indeed branches of Treasure Tree Adam, Gato decided not to beat Crocus to death for the moment. After all, the man had saved his life.

Of course, the bigger reason was that he might not be able to beat Crocus. He had been a crew member of the One Piece, after all. Despite looking so calm and unassuming, no one knew what kind of power was hidden within that body.

This old man was infuriating. Gato couldn't beat him even if he tried cutting him down, and he had no desire to stay here and keep taking this old bastard's crap. So, he decided to quickly find a way out and leave this damned place.

"I remember being swallowed by a whale before I lost consciousness... Old man, how do I get out?"

"You should save your strength in your current condition. Stay quiet. When the time comes, I'll let you out."

"What did you say? I'm perfectly healthy! Look..."

Gato abruptly stood up, intending to show off his solid muscles, only to discover that he had indeed overestimated himself. Just standing up had drained all his strength, and it tore open his wounds, sending piercing pain through him.

"You'd better lie back down!"